Growing clamor about inequities of climate crisis

WARSAW, Poland — Following a devastating typhoon that killed thousands in the Philippines, a routine international climate change conference here turned into an emotional forum, with developing countries demanding compensation from the worst polluting countries for damage they say they are already suffering.

Malia Talakai, a negotiator for the Alliance of Small Island States, a group that includes her tiny South Pacific homeland, Nauru, said that without urgent action to stem rising sea levels, “some of our members won't be around.”

From the time a scientific consensus emerged that human activity was changing the climate, it has been understood that the nations that contributed least to the problem would be hurt the most. Now, even as the possible consequences of climate change have surged, no consensus has emerged over how to rectify what many call “climate injustice.”

Growing demands to address the issue have become an emotionally charged flash point at negotiations here at the 19th conference of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which continues this week.

The notion of seeking justice for a global catastrophe that affects almost every country is not only immensely complicated but also politically daunting. It assumes the culpability of the world's most developed nations, and implies a moral responsibility to bear the costs.

The United States and other rich countries have made their opposition to large-scale compensation clear. Todd Stern, the State Department's envoy on climate issues, bluntly told a gathering at Chatham House in London last month that large-scale resources from the world's richest nations would not be forthcoming.

“The fiscal reality of the United States and other developed countries is not going to allow it,” he said. “This is not just a matter of the recent financial crisis. It is structural, based on the huge obligations we face from aging populations and other pressing needs for infrastructure, education, health care and the like.”